April 27-30 2015 Great Harbor Cay

Last night I was hearing the water pump periodically go off an on.  Since no one was using water it had to be a leak so I shut the pump down and vowed to find the leak in the morning.

So now it’s morning and I diligently went through al the known leak points including the shower faucet access panel, and the master stateroom sink which requires removing a panel.

All the noise woke Mary up a little.   And no leaks.  Not even condensation.  I re-started the pump and after it pressurized the waterlines I sat listening listing for the pump to start up for 20 minutes.  I heard nothing.

Perhaps there really are gremlins and they've discovered another person to torment?

All I can figure out is it may have been the wind blowing and causing a harmonic that sounds like the water pump.  It has happened before now that I think about it.  And back then I went through the same exercise of checking all the leak points and finding nothing.  You’d think I’d learn?

We joined Jeff and Judy for a quick trip to a small beach on Hawks Nest Cay very near to where we are anchored.   Mary and Judy worked fervently to add to the bursting storehouse of dead biological artifacts we already drag around.  Are shells really all that fascinating?

Entering Sharks Creek

After the beach was cleansed of most everything judged collectible, we headed down Shark Creek.  So here's Jeff, a legally blind guy from Canada blasting down this very shallow, Mangrove creek (1.5 feet!) while I, the cautious one, went 5 mph. 

Looks like, well a little creek

Shark Creek runs from this anchorage to the other side of the island where we were anchored a few days ago.  It’s a short cut but as others have warned, even dinghies would fare better at high tide.  We went through on a rising tide which left some spots with very little water.  We had to weave around and try and find the deep spots but even so, we were kicking up mud and sand in much of the creek.  We even grounded a few times but I was able to just power through the soft sand/mud bottom.

Mangroves line the shore for most of the way

The creek emerges on the west side of the island and then there is a little over two mile run to the cut marking the entrance to the marina.  It was pretty rough on this side, but manageable.

On the way we passed the catamaran owned by the couple who run the kayaking tours.  It’s a big boat but odd in that it has a single large hull and then two outrigger hulls on the port side.  It looks like half a catamaran.  Wish I had snapped some pictures.  

At the gas dock

We arrived at the gas dock first and gassed up the dinghy.  Jeff and Judy rolled in soon after and he filled his gas cans.  The dock master showed us where to tie up so we could walk to the grocery store so we headed the short distance over there.

Precariously tied up for a quick grocery run

We literally had to tie up to a rock wall and get the lines around a couple of thin pine trees.  While Jeff worked to bail his dinghy and Mary relaxed, Judy and I walked to the grocery store. 

The place we tied up was a boat yard of sorts.  No one was around but there were plenty of boats and normal debris and equipment one finds in boat yards.  We walked maybe 3 blocks to the familiar grocery store next to the Police station and attached to the bar/liquor store. 

We stopped at the liquor store first.  Jeff needed rum.

Then we stepped next door to the grocery store and bought a few things including band aids for me since I sliced my finger earlier when I was removing the access panel to the shower water fixtures.

They had some surprisingly good oranges and, of course coke for Mary.

Judy, Mason and some friendly store employees

And we had to indulge in ice cream after having tasted it the day before.  And we met Mason, a real vibrant little 5 year old who was having his Junkanoo ice cream treat.  Junkanoo while also being a traditional street parade and carnival, is also the name of this multicolored mixture of ice cream flavors which Mary likes.  Seems Mason is quite fond of it too.

Judy and I each got a cup of ice cream and feeling kind I guess, brought back on for Jeff and Mary.  We had to walk back with them but not all of it melted by the time we returned.

Judy contemplating the mangroves inches away from her back 

We lingered briefly before heading back out to Shark Creek and the anchorage.  Judy rode with us so Jeff could keep his full gas cans on the dinghy floor.  And, as he maintains, he could go faster with her gone.  It did make it easier for them since he was soaked running through the 2 miles in the ocean to get to the marina.

The tide was up and Jeff, ever the adventurer, tore through the creek at full throttle leaving us behind.  We were more conservative and were doing maybe 10 mph.  After a while the radio crackled with the taunting, “Where the hell are you?  I've been back for hours”. 

 

In some places the dinghy barely squeezed through

We took Judy back to our boat for cocktails and Jeff followed with their stuff a few minutes later.

Cocktails.  We toasted Curt & Marilyn whoa aren't with us

We abandoned the idea of moving the boats over to the more northerly side of the bay to mitigate the expected northern winds tomorrow.  Jeff thought it wouldn't be rough where we were.  So I, feeling kind of lazy anyway agreed.   So here we stay!

. 

We woke up to some bouncing as the winds started  to pick up.  I shared my weather info with Judy with an email.  My subscription to Parker's weather service provides some rich forecasts for us to augment the more general information for Bahamas weather we receive from NOAA and other sources like Weather Underground and AccuWeather.

It wasn't looking pretty and our plans to head to a different anchorage I think will be put on hold.  The weather is going to turn squally and its better to be slightly uncomfortable here than be in a new anchorage with little knowledge of the area and its anchor holding characteristics.

We spent the day on the boat.   As the clouds formed I looked at the Miami radar website and it  gave us a muddied picture of showers on the way. 

Jeff came over and brought his laptop so I could give him some of my music and try and fix a driver issue he has been experiencing with a Bose Bluetooth speaker.

He went back to the boat and Mary and I took a dinghy ride after I found a proper driver for his computer.

Actually it really is a superb can crusher

I also located a piece of wood I’m using to crush cans.  They are much easier to store if they are crushed.  We don’t have any convenient avenue for re-cycling them here.  We have to carry them with us until we are in a marina again, most likely in Nassau in a week.

Looking at the weather though, I had the sudden desire to get the dinghy up on the sundeck and out of the water.  Nasty weather could mean we have to move the boat and with a dinghy hanging off the stern it can become difficult.  

So we got the dinghy up and secured.  This also gives me an opportunity to revisit this odd starter issue whereby the poor engine sounds like its struggling against something when I start it.  Then after a few seconds it’s fine.  I think its the starter.

They came back over for a bit to collect their laptop and have a drink.  He wanted to go back to his boat to complete a rain catchment system so he can collect rainwater.  Neat idea.  Large tarp with a hole in the middle to collect water and drain it into his water tanks.

After they left we found ourselves in a rain storm again.  Lots of rain, but not too much wind.

Another hour or so after that, really dark clouds heralding a cold front appeared in the east.  The mouth of the bay faces east meaning if there is any surge from that direction we’ll be rocking and rolling.

And then it hit.  Drenching rain and gusty winds, probably around 50 mph.  I was in the back not worrying too much about dragging because we had 75 feet of chain out and hadn't moved at all.

But … when I looked out at the shore line it was immediately apparent we were dragging.  A lot!

I went up and started both engines and started moving in the direction of the swells.  Mary came up and drove for a few minutes while I freed the snubber and brought up the anchor chain.  It took us many minutes but we finally got it all aboard and headed back out to deeper water.  We were, as best as I can tell, in about 5 feet of water and our draft is 4.5 feet.  Scary.

 Drenching rain, wind just howling and us trying to fight the waves while looking for a suitable place to toss the anchor so it would stay put this time.  Comical afterwards, but a little tense during.

Lots of rain in those clouds

We selected a spot that was lighter in color which usually indicates a sandy patch and dropped out 100 feet of chain and put the snubber on too.  And then we kept the engine running while we waited.  I set an anchor alarm on one of our tablets.  And we waited … and we weren't moving any appreciable distance. 

So we decided to shut the engines down and assumed we were hooked.  Boy I hope so because I’d hate to get up in the middle of the night and have to move again.

So here we are rocking side to side, sometimes violently.  But the anchor alarm app I have is showing us not really moving all that much so I think we are secured.  Besides the winds are supposed to clock around to the west which will put our bow towards shore and the swells on our stern.  Then if we drag anchor we’ll just drag out to sea  which is much better than dragging into the beach.

The rocking was caused by 3-4 swells rolling in from the ocean while our boat was point into the wind, perpendicular to the swell line.

It was not a comfortable night.  Neither of us slept much.  The almost violent side to side motion was vexing because you couldn't really sleep.  So we both sort of dozed most of the night.  At one point, around 5 AM I could hear the rumbling thunder again and assumed we’d be in for a major thunderstorm like before.  So I prepared.  Had the windlass on, flashlights because it was ink black outside, had two additional navigation devices and my BTC phone so I could watch the weather radar.

Radar was presenting a huge blotch of green with some red splotches heading for us, but more of a glancing blow.  We’ll get rain but probably not the heavy gusts of wind like before.

So I sat up on the fly bridge and sure enough soon we were in one of those drenching downpours where you can’t see anything because the rain is so heavy, and you can’t hear anything except the pelting rain.  It was almost like hail for a few minutes.  But no heavy winds.  And through it all we held just fine.  We also had water everywhere, but it was fresh water which is better than salt water.

Around 6:30 it was all over.  The violent side to side motions began to subside.  Those ocean swells moderated quickly until there was just a gentle rocking.  That’s when I fell asleep.

The later that morning Jeff woke us up saying he wanted to go to another anchorage near Devil Cay.

I was somewhat reluctant because the weather indicated high winds and swells from the SW which in this anchorage is good since the island provides protection.  Plus, Devils Cay is somewhat small with only fair holding.  And it isn't quite as protected as here from SW winds.

But, it sounded intriguing and I figured if it didn't work out we could always come back here.  The round trip mileage was about 30.

So we left even though the winds had picked up and the seas were 3-5 feet on the bow.

The seas got progressively worse and we began taking water over the bow at first and then an occasional blast over the bow and up and over the fly bridge.  Exciting!!  I even took a short movie of one of the less dramatic events.

Where we were headed to anchor

We arrived after they had turned into the inlet.  The anchorage is between 3 little islands and is protected except more open to the SW.  There is also a substantial current/surge flowing through there.   Jeff tucked back up in the corner and we tried and failed 6 times to get the anchor to catch.

The wind was very strong and combined with the current we were having difficulty getting the boat turned around enough to head into the wind/current while trying to find one of these sandy patches to anchor.

Our venerable old Bruce anchor is phenomenal in sandy and muddy bottoms, but sometimes difficult to set in grassy bottoms which is the case in most of Devils Cay.

I talked with the catamaran with was anchored in there before we arrived.  He was warning me he had out 150 feet of anchor rode (line) after one of our anchoring attempts was very near him.

After the 6^th try I wasn't willing to keep up what seemed to me, a futile effort so I radioed Jeff we were heading back to Great Harbor Cay.  By that time the winds had increased to the point where I was having a very difficult time keeping control of the boat.

That's Jeff and Judy's boat tucked in between the islands

So we left the same way we came in and enjoyed following seas most of the way up until we were neat Great Harbor Cay when we had to contend with a sudden flurry of beam seas which rocked us pretty good.

We ran into the anchorage and anchored in the NW corner in anticipation of the wind switch forecast for the following day.  Very nice here.  And secure.  We laid out 100 feet of chain in 12 feet of water with what looks like a good sandy bottom.  We are tucked in near a shallow sand bar which should help dampen any swell we’ll certainly experience tomorrow when the the winds are forecast to swing out of the NW.

The three other sailboats we were anchored near on the other side were still there so I guess we aren't too alone. 

Almost a nice sunset looking at Carriearl, the B&B

We chatted briefly with Jeff and Judy by phone.   Then made dinner, watched a Boston Legal episode and went to bed.  After the previously night we were both tuckered out.

We both slept like log last night.   The steady, 20 mph winds, moderated by the island gently rocked us all night long and provided a cooling breeze.   The humidity had turned much lower too so it was comfortable sleeping.

When I woke up this morning I turned on the hot spot of our BTC phone to check the weather and after a few minutes was cut off the internet.  Our 2 gig had been reached and we would need to replenish.

This phone has a hot spot capability which allows to us use the internet.  But, since it’s a pre-paid phone you have to add money to it in order to make calls.  For internet use, you can purchase a data plan, but only in 2 gig increments.  Once the 2 Gigs are used up, its possible to transfer money to purchase another two gigs of data.

We are able to make calls out but I haven't made the effort to try and and have our google number be called and have it ring our Bahamas phone.  Well, yet anyway.

We didn't do much all day.  Made pancakes, shared weather info with Jeff and Judy an also made plans to meet them at Cabbage Cay near Little Harbor Cay tomorrow.  There is a conch bar there, Flo’s, which is another one of those must do things.

After we talked with them, I went around and repaired some loose fittings, and hinges.  And I finally took the outboard apart and oiled up the starter shaft.  It was a bit sticky and wasn't sliding up and down as easily as I thought it should.  So we’ll see next time we start it.

The winds have picked up this afternoon and swung around to the NW now and we have some swells rocking us a bit here, but after peaking this evening it is supposed to moderate over the night time hours leaving us with what I hope will be a good traveling day.

Two of the three other sailboats moved over by us this morning too.  So now we have neighbors.

View from our boat

Meanwhile, Mary is ensconced on the couch and I’m writing this out on the sundeck overlooking the beach.  It maybe cloudy but it still has that “travel ad” look.

Think I’ll have to take a swim soon.  Water is in the mid 80’s here.  And being right in front of Carriearl, it is tempting to head in to the beach and drop in.  They have a such a comfortable bar/patio area.

But we are planning on leaving early tomorrow so perhaps not.  Besides its sprinkling out now and that will continue into the evening so guess we'll just stay on board.